Chapter 1239: Revenge of the Young Master, One Year is Not Too Late
The premise of self-protection is to pass on the blame and not let the dirty water get on yourself. In fact, with Gao Gong's current power and the emperor's unconditional trust in him, as long as he can stay out of it, he can easily quell the adverse impact of this matter.
"But someone has to take responsibility..." Gao Gong was silent for a long time. His voice seemed to come from the caisson above his head, tired and distant.
"It's very simple. Whoever makes a mistake will be held responsible." Zhang Juzheng said firmly, "Brother Suqing, please understand. If a brave man cuts off his arm, there is still hope. If he doesn't cut it off, all will be ruined!"
"But..." Gao Gong wanted to say, the Shanxi Gang had a ** deal with him, Yang Bo gave up the position of Heavenly Official to him, how could he not protect his descendants?
He couldn't say this, but he believed Zhang Juzheng could understand.
"Brother Su Qing, this is such a big mess, the person involved will definitely not be able to get away with it. It's for his own good to let him take the blame now. At least the initiative of how to deal with him is still in Brother Su Qing's hands. When things get out of hand, even the king of heaven can't save him..."
Zhang Juzheng advised earnestly: "If he takes the initiative, he can still save Wang Jianchuan. If the governor of Xuanda is defeated, what is the point of negotiating peace?"
"Hmm..." Gao Gong let out a long breath. He had already figured out the pros and cons, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it. So he had to use Zhang Juzheng's mouth to say it.
"We really have to seize the initiative, otherwise we will be passive at every step!" He nodded slowly, as if he had fought a fierce battle. "We are not children anymore. If we do something wrong, we have to accept the punishment."
"Brother Suqing is wise." Zhang Juzheng hurriedly offered his flattery for the day.
"But he alone can't bear the blame." Gao Gong said with a frown: "He is just a Hanlin scholar, how could he know the secrets of the central government? You have to tell me who told him, right?"
"That's something he has to figure out for himself," Zhang Juzheng said decisively, "In any case, he definitely can't leave from the cabinet."
"Of course." Gao Gong frowned and said, "The imperial edict was just delivered to the Six Departments today. If it wasn't leaked by the Cabinet, then it must have been the Imperial Household Department..."
The emperor of the Ming Dynasty generally did not personally review memorials, but delegated this task to the cabinet and the Silijian. The cabinet read the memorial first, drafted the emperor's will on a small piece of paper and pasted it next to the memorial, which was called "piaoni"; the Silijian then had the eunuchs who held the pen copy the contents of the piaoni on the memorial with a red brush for the emperor, and finally the eunuchs who held the seal used the jade seal to complete the complete will.
Therefore, the Silijian had all the conditions for leaking secrets, and the civil servants had serious discrimination against eunuchs, making them the best target for blaming others.
"But although Eunuch Chen has mediocre abilities, he is deeply loved by the emperor and it is impossible for him not to cry out for injustice." Gao Gong's only worry was that if he failed to shirk the blame, Chen Hong would bring up the fact that he had helped him to be reinstated. That would be very troublesome.
"This is indeed a problem." Zhang Juzheng sighed, as if there was no good solution.
"Hmm..." Gao Gong anxiously put his hands behind his back and walked around the duty room for a long time. He said in a muffled voice, "Sitting here won't solve the problem. You should also think of a solution, and I will also think of a solution to see if we can make Chen Hong shut up!"
"Yes." Zhang Juzheng responded and reminded Gao Gong: "You must hurry up, the later you are, the more passive you will be!"
"I know." Gao Gong nodded and waved his hand impatiently.
Seeing him chasing away flies, Zhang Juzheng curled his lips, bowed and retreated silently.
After Mr. Zhang left, Shen Yingkui came in with a broom and a dustpan and picked up the broken jade pieces on the ground.
"Let the subordinates clean up, and you go back quickly. I have something to tell your father-in-law and Mr. Zhang..." Gao Gong lowered his voice and gave orders.
"Yes." Shen Yingkui's face changed drastically when he heard that. He quickly put down the broom and hurried away.
"Oh..." Gao Gong stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the broken pieces of jade on the ground, feeling a wave of sharp pain.
Even if this could solve the problem, the price he paid would be too high - he would lose two important allies.
It hurts so much when a hero cuts off his arm!
But there is no other solution...
In other words, it is a blessing if one can make drastic measures and not affect the overall situation.
"What the hell is going on? Why is everything so wrong?" Gao Gong cursed and kicked the dustpan away.
"Ouch!" There was a loud bang downstairs, followed by Zhao Zhenji's roar: "Who the hell did this? I almost got my head cut!"
"You deserve it, you evil bastard!" Gao Gong spat fiercely and slammed the door.
~~
On the other side, Master Shao was at home, hosting a banquet to entertain Mr. Zhao who came to visit.
Although Shao Daxia has now climbed to a high position and his eyes are so high that he even looks down on the ministers, Shao Fang still looks at this little fanboy who was his friend when he was still in obscurity with a different eye.
What's more, Mr. Zhao also prepared an unbelievably generous gift for meeting...
"Brother, it is said that it is not easy for me to enter this door now. Do you know? Even the six ministers and dukes have to send a letter to ask for an audience first. Whether they can see me or not depends on my mood." He was drunk and spoke incoherently. He put his arm around Zhao Hao's shoulders and boasted:
"We are like-minded old friends from Jiangnan. Come back soon and I'll see you soon!"
"Really?" Zhao Hao's face flushed with shock. "Such an important person still has to pay a visit to me?"
"Of course, it all depends on my mood. If I'm not in a good mood, I'll leave them alone for ten days or eight days. It's not uncommon." Seeing the shocked expression on the face of Mr. Zhao, Shao Fang was simply stunned. "If you don't believe me, I'll call a minister to pour wine for us! Why don't we make a bet? If no one shows up within an incense stick, I'll take the wine!"
"No, no, why wouldn't I trust you, brother? Besides, they are all old men, and I would feel disgusted if they poured me some wine." Zhao Hao said with a smile.
"Hahaha, that's right." Shao Fang smiled and nodded, "Then let's do it another day. Let's invite a few old men to go to the Eight Great Hutongs for a drink!"
"Okay, okay." Mr. Zhao responded vaguely.
He was indeed quite surprised, but he was not surprised by Shao Fang's current status - if he had known that he would become Gao Gong's most trusted right-hand man, Master Zhao would not have been so enthusiastic about him.
What surprised Zhao Hao was that Shao Fang was so arrogant. With his current status in Jiangnan, he dared not neglect any official, let alone Hai Rui and Cai Guoxi.
Even Zhang Dongguan, the magistrate of Shangyuan County, who had been in the same boat for a long time, still paid tribute to him on three festivals and two birthdays, and would visit him every time he returned to Nanjing. Mr. Zhao was not born to be a mean person, and he was not willing to flatter others, but officials just liked it. Especially those who were used to being the chief officials of prefectures and counties, who were flattered and worshipped all day long, and they all became very arrogant. They had to follow all the etiquette first before they could talk about things properly...
Shao Fang actually treated the ministers like monkeys. Isn't this a grave offense?
Zhao Hao now understood why Gao Gong, who was both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Heaven, and also a minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor, was defeated so easily in the future.
Chairman Mao said that we should make more friends and fewer enemies. If Lao Gao and Shao Da Xia make fewer friends and more enemies, how can they be undefeated?
But the more this happened, the more respectful he became. "I am truly flattered, little brother."
"Alas, I, Shao Fang, am not the kind of person who changes wives when I get rich and friends when I am noble. I will treat those who treated me well even better!" Shao Fang laughed heartily and said, "Besides, we have had military training together, so we are from the same school."
"Then I'll honor you by calling you senior brother." Zhao Hao smiled and took the opportunity to pour wine for Shao Fang.
"Hahaha, no problem." Shao Fang clinked glasses with him in satisfaction and asked, "By the way, how is the old man now?"
The old man he was referring to was of course not Zhao Liben, but Gao Gong’s brother Gao Jie.
"The situation is much better. I will be fully recovered by the end of the year and will come to Beijing to reunite with the Prime Minister." Zhao Hao said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "I have fulfilled my mission. Senior brother, please say a few good words to the Prime Minister."
"Okay, okay." Shao Fang agreed readily, "Don't worry, brother. I have often advised the Prime Minister to put aside the past grudges and recruit you under his command. Wouldn't it be great if the two of us worked for the Prime Minister together?"
"It's a pity that when the Prime Minister sees me, he will think of my grandfather..." Zhao Hao said with a smile: "I can't hold this thigh anymore, I'd better hold my brother's thigh tightly."
"Hahaha, don't worry, don't worry, it will be opened slowly." Shao Fang laughed again.
The two were having a passionate fight when the door to the living room opened and Shen Yingkui walked in, looking cold.
"Hey, you are no longer working in the cabinet, why did you come back?" Shao Fang asked curiously.
"It's an important matter." Shen Yingkui bowed briefly to Zhao Hao and gave Shao Fang a wink.
Shao Fang knew that Gao Gong had something important to tell him, so he quickly stood up and said to Zhao Hao apologetically, "Please wait a moment, my dear brother. I will be right back."
"Brother, please take care of your own business. Otherwise, I'll go back first." Zhao Hao said tactfully.
"Please sit for a moment." Shao Fang asked him to stay, then took her son-in-law into the study and into the secret room that outsiders were not allowed to enter.
Zhao Hao sat alone at the eight-immortals table, drinking tea quietly.
Although he could not hear any sound in the secret room, he could guess what the conversation between the father-in-law and son-in-law was about.
Because it was Zhang Siwei who had asked someone to secretly slip the two letters into the crack of Cao Daye's door.
In fact, the Shanxi merchants' communication system had not been infiltrated, and the communications between Zhang Siwei and Wang Chonggu were transmitted at the highest security level, so there was no possibility of leakage at all.
But the books that Mr. Zhao read in his previous life were engraved in his mind word by word in this life. In the "Compilation of Imperial Ming Dynasty Essays on Worldly Affairs", Zhang Siwei's "The Fifth Book of Letters to Wang Jianchuan on the Tribute to the Emperor" and the eighth, ninth and tenth books were included. Moreover, it has always been an important historical material for studying Altan Khan's tribute to the emperor. Anyone who has studied this topic cannot avoid it.
As for why Master Zhao wanted to do this evil thing, has he forgotten that when the sea transportation was discussed last year, this grandson instigated the Shanxi Gang and his idol to vote against it, forcing him to force his grandfather to go to Gaojiazhuang and beg Gao Gong to come out of retirement?
Master Zhao suffered a loss for the sake of the overall situation at that time. He waited for a whole year and a half before finally getting this opportunity to take revenge!
(End of this chapter)
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